Iowa State Pride Week is planned to be full of color.

Wayne Glass, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Student Services intern and practicum coordinator, said he’s most excited for Sam Brinton’s talk about going through conversion therapy.

“I can’t wait to hear about his lived experience and story,” Glass said.

Pride Week is a celebration of diversity in the local LGBT community. 

Glass also said he’s looking forward to Wednesday’s “Wear Rainbow” theme. This can range anywhere from simply wearing a rainbow pin or ribbon, or fully utilizing one’s wardrobe and dress completely head to toe in rainbow. The Ames community is welcome to join as well.

Amanda Watkins, junior in dietetics and psychology, said she was unaware Iowa State’s Pride Week was coming up.

“I’m not in any LGBT group or anything, so I’m not surprised I didn’t know. I don’t really have a reason to be involved in one at this time,” Watkins said.

Watkins said she accepted she was in the LGBT community last year, and has only come out to a certain amount of people since then, her parents not included.

“It’s not that I’m only coming out to close friends or something, it’s just a vibe I get when I meet someone that I decide if I’m gong to tell them,” Watkins said.

Glass said it’s important for those in the LGBT community to be proud of who they are, where they’ve been and where they’re going.

“The community has been marginalized, oppressed and treated terribly, so it’s important that even everyday we take time to be proud of who we are,” Glass said.

Watkins said perhaps when she reaches a comfortable level maybe she would attend an event or join an LGBT group on campus.